


jolly good scares

by cabbage_s



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: ??? - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Nightmare Before Christmas Fusion, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Slow Burn, questionable
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-15 20:12:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18506227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabbage_s/pseuds/cabbage_s
Summary: Even elves get lectures about the entire “stranger danger” spiel, so Renjun is naturally apprehensive about the boy who climbs through his bathroom window ten minutes before bedtime.“Hey, where do you guys make the toys?” the intruder coughs out from a mouthful of snow, before Renjun smacks him over the head with a reindeer-themed soap dispenser and knocks him out.





	jolly good scares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> un beta'ed

Even elves get lectures about the entire “stranger danger” spiel, so Renjun is naturally apprehensive of the boy who climbs through his bathroom window ten minutes before bedtime.

 

“Hey, where do you guys make the toys?” the intruder coughs out from a mouthful of snow, before Renjun smacks him over the head with a reindeer-themed soap dispenser and knocks him out. The boy flops onto the ground with a sickening thud of bone against tile, falling limp.

 

The gracious part of Renjun, one that is naturally ingrained into all elves, can’t help but feel concern over the pool of red-colored liquid collecting where the boy lays face-down on the floor. On the other hand, the sinister voice inside of him that sometimes convinces him replacing the paint cartridges in the toy factory with peanut butter is a good idea whispers for him to poke the corpse with his toe, because why not?

 

Renjun is stuck between investigating the dreaded question of “Is it dead?” and bolting out the door in search of medical aid when the intruder resurrects from death with a loud gasp, grabbing onto his ankle.

 

“Wait,” he groans, clinging onto elf by his pajama leg. “I can explain-” The sight of the intruder’s glassy eyes, hauntingly reminiscent of those of a deceased person’s, combined with the sheen of blood seeping down his face yanks an unholy shriek out of Renjun. Renjun rams his bare heel against the boy’s nose in a panic and sends him flying backwards against the bathtub.

 

Twenty minutes later, Renjun finds himself sitting on the floor holding up a box of kleenex for the intruder’s bloody nose.

 

“Did you really have to kick me?” the boy whines as he sniffles into a gingerbread-scented tissue. He bunches it up and throws it onto the sea of bloody tissues on the floor, narrowing missing hitting Renjun in the face. Renjun contemplates his life as he cowers from the shower of germs and blood. Is he really taking care of a creep who just tried to break into his bathroom? Does he have a death wish? Is he a _dumbass_? Apparently the correct answer is yes, yes, and yes.

 

“I thought you were going to kill me,” Renjun says defensively, before pausing in confusion. Wait, why is he the one being defensive? He’s not the one who broke into another person’s bathroom in the first place. “I thought you were a zombie,” he adds in quietly, slightly embarrassed after voicing it out loud. It seemed less stupid when he said it in his head.

 

The boy doesn’t seem to mind, because he suddenly says, “I’m Donghyuck.” _I didn’t ask, but okay._ Renjun reluctantly murmurs out his own name in response, but Donghyuck doesn’t seem to hear as he indignantly puffs out his chest. “And I’m not a _zombie_.” Donghyuck spits out the word in a way that makes Renjun wonder if he’s had a bad run in with one. “Zombies are tacky."  _Well you still fit the description._  "My neighbor’s a zombie.”

 

“Your neighbor….?”

 

Donghyuck nods vigorously, leaning back from the bathtub with his fingers gripping the rim. Renjun grimaces at the blood fingerprints left behind on the polished white porcelain. He’s going to have a lot of explaining to do after this. “I’m from Halloween Town. Ever heard of it?”

 

Something inside Renjun shrivels up at the new piece of information as his brain works to put two and two together. Yes, he’s heard stories of Halloween Town. None of them have been particularly good. There’s been a silent universal contempt towards the other holiday world amongst the elves, especially after the incident of ‘93. Any blossoming of respect for Donghyuck that might have been in Renjun is now gone.

 

“I have,” Renjun confirms as indifferently as he can manage, but there must be something in his face because Donghyuck leans backwards and puts his hands up with a strained whistle.

 

“You guys still aren’t angry over the whole Christmas fiasco, are you? That’s _way_ in the past, man. Everyone in Halloween town has learned our lesson by now.” Renjun feels a very strong urge to laugh at the irony of the situation, but he restrains himself by some miracle. That doesn’t completely stop him from being petty, however.

 

“Apparently you haven’t,” Renjun mutters bitterly, wrinkling his nose at all of the tissues scattered all around him. Donghyuck blinks innocently. “Anyways, what do you want?

 

Something inside Donghyuck’s eyes seems to light up at the redirection of the conversation and his posture straightens out like an ironing board. It’s kind of cute, but Renjun immediately stomps down on the thought the moment it surfaces.

 

“Can I see the place where you make toys? I won’t touch anything,” he quickly adds in upon catching the look on Renjun’s face.

 

Really, he shouldn't be doing this. Renjun's an elf from Christmas Town and Donghyuck a whatever the hell he is from the pit of misery that is Halloween Town, so he’s probably already breaking a constitution's worth of rules by letting Donghyuck sit on his bathtub. But as much as he's complained about Jaemin and Jeno's presences, Renjun has always been lured in by the thrill of stupid ideas(and he’s always stayed because he’s not dumb enough to get caught like _some_ people). So instead of deciding to kick Donghyuck six ways back to Halloween where he belongs, Renjun goes against his better judgement and asks,

 

“Why?”

 

Donghyuck claps his hands together, rubbing them together so aggressively Renjun worries he may conjure a fireball. It seems the Halloween inside of Donghyuck is choosing its moment to manifest, especially with the way he smiles like he’s just sold his sworn enemy to Satan.

       

“I need inspiration for the mass production of a… product of mine. Folks back home are stuck on stupid manual labor and assembly lines, but _I'm_ better than that. I refuse to be the sick man of Halloween Town! My idea’s already refined and in its last stages; all I need is a little snap, crack, and sizzle to get things rolling before next Halloween. Everyone’s going to be completely swept off their feet once I show them the big reveal of my fantastic, marvelous, out of this world idea!" Donghyuck makes a gigantic sweeping motion with his arms to emulate his words. "Buuutttt... I need some heavy machinery to get things started if I really want to finish by Halloween. Which is where _you_ come in." He points at Renjun's nose, but the elf frowns and swats his hand away in irratation.

 

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t interested, so Renjun asks, “What’s your idea?”

 

Despite his avid dedication, Donghyuck adopts a specific type of expression that makes Renjun want to punch him, elongating his face in a way that says he won’t tell until he gets what he wants. He noisily snorts blood into a tissue. “Are you gonna show me where you guys make the toys?”

 

The bathroom door thuds noisily before Renjun can choke him, causing the two of them to jump like a pair of Mexican jumping beans. For a moment Renjun expects the worst(ex. one of the older elves catching him awake even after curfew), until he hears a:

 

“Injunnie!” calling him from the other side of the door. It’s Jaemin. Renjun relaxes, though Donghyuck still swings his head around in wild confusion like a broken cuckoo clock. Good, it's just an idiot. Breathe, Renjun, breathe. “You still in there? It’s time for bed! I wanna cuddle again!”

 

“Shut up!” Renjun yells back. He turns back to Donghyuck. “What do I get in return if I show you our factory?”

 

“Uhm. My love and adoration?” Renjun’s face falls into one of disappointment, lips thinning out into a line. He stands up and pretends to leave, only for Donghyuck to desperately catch him by the pant sleeve. “Wait wait _wait_! Uhm, okay. How about this, I’ll let you in on my spectacularly amazing, show-stopping idea! No one else knows about it,” he adds in a whisper, leaning forward with a hand cupping his mouth. Renjun halts.

 

Excitedly, “Can I help with your idea?”

 

“What? No!”

 

Flatly, “Then I won’t help you find the factory.”

 

“Oogie Boogie’s fat f- okay, fine! You can help! Jeez.” The poor boy looks on the verge of tears, but the sadistic part of Renjun merely laughs at his suffering as he sits himself back on the floor. “Just show me where your amazing high tech factories are and I’ll tell you, okay? Do we have a deal?” He holds up a pinky finger and Renjun hooks his own around it with slight hesitation.

 

“Deal.”

 

Satisfied, Renjun tugs a displeased Donghyuck towards the window from whence he came. It’s funny because only an idiot or nimwit from Halloween Town would miss the _giant ass factory right in the middle of the town_ , but apparently Donghyuck is all of the above, so Renjun won’t miss out on taking advantage of that. 

 

“I can’t do it today, so meet me tomorrow at ten. But _don’t_ climb through my window this time.”  Renjun shoves the complaining boy through the window, conveniently forgetting the two-story drop below. Well, he managed to get up on his own, so he should know the way up. Besides, Donghyuck survived a good ramming of his skull against the floor; he shouldn't be able to suffer any more brain damage, Renjun reasons.

 

“Where am I supposed to go then?” the plume of red hair poking out from his window ledge whispers to him, the cold air fanning the tomato-colored puff out in a way that makes it resemble a palm tree leaf.

 

“There’s a snowman near the big Christmas Town sign with a fried egg on it. Find it when you get here tomorrow, now hurry and get out _please_ ,” Renjun hisses, closing the window door. He doesn’t get a chance to watch Donghyuck descend, because just as the window slams shut the door opens and Jaemin with his signature pink air comes barreling through.

 

“Injun- whoa.” Jaemin comes to a creaky stop, taking in the bunches of bloody tissues scattered on the floor with fluttering eyes. Renjun whips around wearing a sheepish smile, hands twisted behind his back as he struggles to balance on the bathtub rim. “Dude, what happened here?”

 

It takes a while to convince Jaemin he didn’t murder someone in this very bathroom, but when he does manage to shove him through the door Renjun welcomes the sweet silence with a heavy sigh. He takes a moment to glare at the mess of tissues on the floor, before setting off to work cleaning everything up in a straw-woven basket decorated with candy canes. Renjun spares a glance out the window without really thinking about it and pauses.

 

In the middle of gingerbread houses and candy cane streetlights, he catches sight of Donghyuck staring up at him from where he stands knee-deep in snow. When they make eye contact the boy smiles in a way that promises seventeen different types of mischief, his cheeks forming two rosy apples as he draws apart his face into an impish grin. They hold this silent exchange for a few seconds before Donghyuck finally turns to leave, his head of red hair melding into the landscape of Christmas lights and snow.

 

Well, not after tripping multiple times and submerging himself in a foot of snow. Renjun laughs softly to himself as he watches Donghyuck's head pop up from the snow, arms flailing dramatically. Dumbass. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry,,, i know i should focus on other things but donghyuck climbing through renjun's window came to me once in a dream + everyone loves nightmare before christmas aus(don't quote me on that)
> 
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> [twitter](https://twitter.com/ssauerkraaut)  
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